Hero and Monster - Enobaria's Games (62nd Hunger Games)
by Monster Bringer
Summary: Enobaria, a young girl from district 2, is certain that her goal is to win the Games and live a life of fame and glory. But when the Games go on, she becomes a bit confused. Rated T because this is Enobaria and... you all know what she did. I don't own the Hunger Games, nor Brutus, Enobaria and Lyme. Completed.
1. Chapter 1 - Dreams

I threw another two knives, both of them hitting the target perfectly. My trainer smiled. "Enobaria, you are ready. After some discussions, our center has decided to assign you to volunteer for the 62nd Hunger Games. That will be two years later!"

I never know time flies. I wake up, feeling a bit dizzy, stomach fluttering as sunlight penetrates into my room. A beautiful stone colored dress with red shades is placed on my chair, which my trainer has given to me as a gift.

For this big day, the Day of Reaping, of the 62nd Hunger Games.

I always think that there are two years before I actually enter the Games – but now this day has actually come. In the past two years, I was so certain that I would win – and a life of glory and fame would be awaiting me. I would bring pride to district 2 - the district that adopted me when both of my parents died in a quarry accident. The center that trained me for the Games; they give me chance to be glorious, to win fame and fortune, to be living in the Victor Village with the victors I always adore. I am more than thankful.

"There is no difference between animals and human. Just kill them. You will win."

What if I can't win? If I die gloriously in a battle, I will still be honored. Certainly not if I die in a stupid occasion, like accidentally tripping over a stone and bleed to death. That can't happen anyway, I have never seen tributes dying because of that.

_No, no, Enobaria, I know you will win._ I tell myself. _Like you always dreamed. _

"Winning is your only assess to fame and glory." I remember my trainer stressed on the word "glory" everytime he said the sentence.

"Meet Lyme, my friend, victor 10 years ago. I hope you can learn from her and make us proud." He said once, pointing to a tall and muscular girl who was walking to him.

I feel my hand involuntarily touching my wooden necklace, with a precious stone of the shape "2" on it. My district token.

I remember the first year that a district 2 girl died in the bloodbath. In the 52nd Hunger Games. The girl was too careless that she didn't know the district 7 boy had an axe, right behind her. I was 7 at that time, watching that girl collapsing into the dust, axe buried in her back, her eyes widened in shock, regrets, hatred and sadness as her cannon fired. The whole district was furious. I remember the adults at the training center yelling at her, saying a full variety of foul words, angry that she brought shame to our district. When her body was shipped back, she was quickly burnt and ash thrown casually into some woods. Her parents died in the same quarry accidents as mine, so there was no one to help her.

She was forgotten.

Especially when our boy won the Games in that year, the whole district celebrated and everyone got a day off work to party. No one even mention the girl.

I remember the television focus on her eyes, wide open, with fear.

Will I die in the Games like her and become forgotten?

I know I won't. _I will win. I will be the hero of district 2; _I promise myself.


	2. Chapter 2 - Volunteering

"Enobaria! Wake up! Reaping!" The yelling and knocking on my door brings me back to reality. I put on my dress and comb my straight brown hair.

My trainer and classmates always say I look like a crazy bitch, especially when my hair is messy.

They say I am lethal, though I am not extremely strong or tall. In fact, I am smaller than most of the district 2 tributes. Knives are my favourite weapon. They are _beautiful_. And most importantly, they are light enough, allowing me to run quickly.

I put on my token and open the door. My trainer beams at me. "Perfect! Enobaria, you are ready!" I smile at him. "Let's go! Everyone is counting on you!"

We arrive at the District 2 Square in 20 minutes. The Justice Building first comes into my sight. I will be in there in another 20 minutes. Fear and pride both stir up in my body at the same time. And I will ride on that train that brings me to a life of glory.

I walk to the area specially designed for Careers. Only people from the training center know that I will be volunteering, along with this year's boy volunteer, Tyrus. I don't know Tyrus very well, I have only spoken to him for a few times, but I know he is extremely big and strong. I have seen him using his bare hands to tear a dummy into half. And he can use swords and spears with no difficulty.

I always doubt my odds to win the Games if Tyrus is entering the same Games as mine. The only thing that calms me down is what my trainer said to me a few months before.

"Tyrus is stronger and bigger but you are quicker and smarter. "

The Hunger Games isn't only about strength; it is about tactics and survival.

The Square is almost crowded with people now. I can feel that some kids are nervous. District 2 does not always have two volunteers; if all trainers from the training center agree that a certain trainee will definitely win, no one will be assigned to volunteer except that trainee. You can choose to volunteer – but that is considered as mere suicide.

There were 2 times when district 2 had no female volunteers – when the male volunteer was extremely strong and big, even stronger than Tyrus, skilled, swift and also _handsome_. Both of the male tributes came back as victor.

The Anthem of Panem is played and the treaty is read. I try to pay attention as this is my last year to stand in this Square, as a tribute.

"Ladies first!"

District 2's escort, Mia, puts her hand into the girl's reaping bowl. I can notice that some girls are breathing heavily.

"Dionne Millett!"

A small 12 years old girl walks onto the stage. She stares at us anxiously, waiting for someone to volunteer.

I step out from the Career's area, which is right in the middle of the square. Everyone is looking at me and I can't help but smile, knowing that I am the center of all attention.

"I volunteer as tribute!" I shout at the top of my voice. The little girl's face lights up and smiles to me as she returns to the Square.

I walk onto the stage.

"Sweetie, what is your name?"

"Enobaria. Enobaria Winton." I said.

"Great, now let's cheer for our newest tribute – Enobaria Winton!"

District 2 roars in joy and pride. I wave to the camera, smiling.

I enjoy a whole minute of attention before Mia clears her voice.

"Now for the boys!"

She unfolds a strip.

"Luke Tomford!"

Everyone looks at a boy from the 16 years old area. Before he can even react, Tyrus' monstrous voice booms around the Square. "I volunteer!"

Everyone gives way for him to go straight through to the stage.

"My name is Tyrus Stromberg." He introduces himself before Mia even asks for it.

"Now, let's cheer for the tributes of district 2 – Tyrus Stromberg and Enobaria Winton – in the 62nd Hunger Games!"

The whole district cheers with the loudest voice I have ever heard as Peacekeepers lead me to the Justice Building.

_I am their hero. _

I have never felt so happy in my life.


	3. Chapter 3 - Next Station: the Capitol

My trainer and a few friends come to say farewell.

"I trust you. We all trust you." My trainer says. "You are born to win the Games."

"I will try my best." I say.

Then we hug each other and wait in silence, knowing that I can have their support. 3 minutes pass and the Peacekeepers lead my trainer and friends away. "See you – alive!" My trainer shouts before the Peacekeepers bring him away.

Then I am left alone in the Justice Building, mentally prepare myself for the Games. _Right. Bloodthirsty and cruel than I ever am. _A few minutes later the Peacekeepers escort me to the train.

There are loads of Capitol reports waiting for the district 2 tributes. As soon as I exit the building, I see Tyrus. The cameras start flashing.I wave and smile to the camera, trying to look as menacing as I can be. Tyrus is beating his chest, yelling, like a wild animal ready to fight.

I see Brutus, victor of the 52nd Hunger Games, waiting for us right in the middle of the train. Lyme, victor of the 54th Hunger Games, is standing next to him.

"Welcome, our volunteers of the 62nd Hunger Games. Go and settle yourself in your room and come back for breakfast before 10," Brutus says kindly, "You must be hungry, right?"

My stomach growls in agreement.

Tyrus is already running to his room where Brutus follows him. "Rude boy," Mia complains. Tyrus has just knocked over a vase and water is running on the carpet.

Lyme smiles. "Politeness can't bring you far in the Games."Then she turns to me. "Your name is Enobaria right?"

"Yes."

"Ok Eno." She nicknames me before I even agree, "Go to your room and get changed."

The room is three times bigger than my room back at the training center and much more luxurious. The chairs are all made of velvet, cashmere and as many expensive fabrics you can name. There is a big bed in the room even though the journey from district 2 to the Capitol is only a few hours.

"Come and take your tribute photos." Lyme says when I walk out of the room. Tyrus is already there, taking his sets of photos. I try to look as good as I can. This photo will appear when they show my score. "Your trainer has given me a report about your skills. We will decide on what angle we will like to put on you once we arrive at the Capitol." Brutus says to us. "Now we want to show you the reaping of the other districts. Tyrus, take a seat."

Tyrus stomps to the huge sofa I am sitting on and his weight deforms the sofa. I involuntarily slide towards him due to gravity.

They project something onto the screen. And the Anthem is played. Then "The Reaping" flashes.

The first district to be shown is district 1. District 1 has always been our allies in the Games.

A girl with dirty blonde hair volunteers, her hair loosely tied. She is not exceptionally tall, but she is bigger than me. Her face is so arrogant that makes me chuckle when I see it. Her voice is also the most annoying one I have ever heard when she speaks her name. The boy whom volunteers is slightly smaller than Tyrus, his hair jelled backwards and speaking in the calmest tone possible, as if he is going to a tour instead of entering a life-and-death game. His intimidating green eyes sparkle under the sunlight. "That's Goldia and Cleon. " Lyme says. "Make them your allies and cooperate in the Games."

Then Brutus immediately switches to district 4.

The girl is extremely pretty. She has pink skin illuminating like precious white stones; her long brown hair, tied in a high ponytail, comes down flowing, like an elegant waterfall. There are dimples on her cheeks when she smiles to the camera. The boy is muscular and strong, his skin oiled and tanned, reflecting sunlight to the camera. His face displays ultimate determination and fearlessness. He grabs the girl's hand tightly and wave to the camera together. "This two is Pearl and Seger. I think they will make good allies." Brutus says.

We watch the reaping of the remaining districts. The fear and nervousness from these districts are vivid; I remember seeing some kids crying when they walk onto the stage. I can't help but look at them with teasing eyes.

A few tributes stand out from my mind.

The girl from district 3 is an Asian-looking girl, with long black hair. She is pretty, though clearly no match with the girl from 4. She doesn't even raise an eyebrow when she walks onto the stage, unlike her district partner, who is panicking.

The boy from district 9 is slightly smaller than Tyrus, but extremely muscular and strong, considering he is from an outlying district.

The girl from district 12, a 12-years-old, is an unforgettable tribute. She is crying the loudest among all, sitting on the ground like a baby. The Peacekeepers have to carry her onto the stage. Her mentor sighs and drinks another bottle of alcohol.

"We are almost there!" Mia announces afterwards. "You should come and have a first look of the Capitol." I run to the window and the scene of amazing masonry products greet me. The buildings are very modern. Cars walk on highways and there are helicopter around.

It seems like a glorious land, instead of the place where a life-and-death game will soon be held in.


	4. Chapter 4 - Parade

The Capitol citizens notice the district 2 tribute train and are pointing at us eagerly. They scream and wave at us. Tyrus and I smile and wave back to them. In the matter of a few minutes, the train arrives. The station is crowded with reporters and citizens. As soon as Tyrus and I step out of the train, lights flash and the Capitol citizens scream.

The Capitol Training Center is much bigger than that in district 2. Brutus press the button marked as "2" on the lift; a few seconds later I see a living room even bigger than the entire train. I stare at the place in awe. Tyrus has already run to the closest sofa and jumps up and down, examining the sofa with his butt. "Perfect! It's cashmere!" Brutus raises an eyebrow at him but says nothing.

After dinner, Lyme leads me back to my room. "The tribute parade is tomorrow night. By that time all districts will have arrived at the Capitol." I nod.

"See you." Lyme smiles and closes my door gently.

I want to take a shower, so I go to the water closet. There are different buttons on the wall, and I have no idea what the symbols on them mean. I try pressing them one by one. Water comes out from different places and thick layers of lemon and rose scented soap cover my body. Then warm air comes out from somewhere and dries my body almost instantly.

When I am lying on my bed, I see my district token, next to me, lying on the table. Lyme must have purposely put it here. It is a gift from my trainer. I suddenly remember that only night when he was mad at me.

"Enobaria!"

The 8-year-old girl sat on the ground, unmoved. She scratched the ground hard, her cold dark eyes piercing the trainer. "No." She hissed.

"Run. This is part of your training. Now go out and run along the track on the hill."

"No, it is 3am. I am afraid."

My trainer's blue eyes suddenly became cold. He looked like a person I had never seen. Suddenly I was terrified. He took out a blade with a sharp needle-like blade. "Did you say 'afraid'?" He sank the knife into my left arm. I winced at the terrible amount of pain and he rotated the blade before pulling it out of my skin.

I saw my arm covered in red. The smell of metals occupied my brain and I must admit I _liked _it.

"Fear nothing, Enobaria." He roughly bandaged me before shoving me out. "Now run."

_Run. _I gasp, jumping out of bed. It is already noon and I hear someone knocking on the door. "It is already past twelve, Eno." Lyme snaps at me while I apologize. "Your stylist is waiting."

I leave my room and find a woman dressed in red and green. "My name is Clelia." She shakes hands with me, the large blood red ruby aligned on her ring scratching my fingers. "Nice to meet you!"

My prep team removes unnecessary hair on my body and wraps me in a golden piece of fabric. Clelia takes out some metallic armors. "Stay still and we will hang this on you. Argh! Stay still!" The heavy armor makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. Clelia and I look at my costume in the mirror. I look like a warrior.

After meeting with Tyrus' team, we go down to the assembly area to get ready for the parade. A few tributes are already there. District 1 and 4 stop chatting as soon as they see us. They study us for a while before the boy from district 4 asks us to join them. Shortly district 3 and 11 arrive. The other tributes try to keep as much distance as possible when they see us.

Someone starts shouting at the back of the stage. Then a ridiculous upbeat music is played. "THE TRIBUTE PARADE IS GOING TO START!" Someone shouts. "GET READY!"

I get into a beautifully decorated cart with a "2" marked viciously on its side. Then district 1's cart disappears. "Ready?" Someone whispers to us. Then our cart starts to move. I try to stand still and raise my head proudly.

At first I am in a dark tunnel. Then suddenly everything becomes bright, and I hear roaring from the wild crowd. As soon as our cart comes out from the entrance the sound has overwhelmed the area. Colorful paper strips fall from the sky. Everyone is screaming our names and throwing roses at us.

"District 2! District 2! District 2!"

I see my face on every screen and wave like there is no tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5 - Training

"Well done!" Lyme congratulates us as she escorts us back to our room. "You have made district 2 proud." Brutus smiles at us, and we get to enjoy a feast.

The next day Lyme bangs my door loudly. "Today is a big day!" She says, with a tone of excitement in her voice. "Training for 3 consecutive days! I remember the times when I am in the training center. Good days."

The Capitol Training Center is the most advanced and modern training center in Panem; it is at least three times larger than that in district 2. I can't help but feel excited when I see the pack of knives at the knives station.

"Quiet! Quiet!" A woman in her early twenties shouts.

"I am the head trainer. We welcome and introduce you, tributes, of the 62nd Hunger Games, to this training centre." She clears her throat. "Firstly, I will show you the training station. The left is the weapon stations while the right is the survival stations. You are advised to check all of them in these 3 days. Secondly, I want to remind you of the rules in this training center. No fighting with other tributes. There will be training professionals to help you with that if you need a fighting partner. Thirdly, I want to remind all of you the importance of both fighting and survival. A week later twenty-three of you will be dead. Only one can live. If you want to be that person you better listen to me now. Hey, district 1, please stop talking." The girl from district 1 stares at her angrily and shuts up. "Do you know how tributes usually die? 10% from infection. 20% from dehydration. 70% from all sorts of injuries. But if you know how to heal wounds, it can be a great help."

Then we are dismissed and free to go to any areas we like. Tyrus walk straight towards the weapon station, so we follow him. "I'm Pearl. Are you Eno-" The girl from 4 tries to speak to me, "-barrier?"

"Enobaria." I reply. "But you can call me Eno. That's what my mentor call me."

"What weapon do you use?" Pearl asks. "I use throwing axes." She goes to the axe station and look at the axes. "Wow, all the best axes in the world are here!"

I ignore her and go to get the most vicious-looking knives from the knives station. After getting our weapon, we go to the area with dummies together. When we are in front of a dummy, the girl from district 1, Goldia, suddenly drops her bow.

"Show us what you have got, 2. And scare off those little faces looking at you." Goldia speaks to me loudly, attracting all the other tributes' attention. She crosses her arm and point towards the dummies. I feel anger stirring in my body. Is that because I am smaller than them? So they think I can't do well? I try to keep calm. Being angry in the arena will serve me no good.

I sneer at Goldia and put the knives into my vest. The boy from district 1, whose name is Cleon if I remember correctly, switches on the dummy. The first dummy's target illuminates, indicating where I should hit. I throw a knife and it hits the center perfectly. The second target lights up and I throw another knife. Then the pace becomes quicker. Two targets light up at the same time on different dummies. I release the knives on both of my hands at the same time; hitting the target just right. I could hear the sound of knives clashing the target – the sound of metals clashing. I have always enjoyed this sound, especially when I am training in district 2. Another two knives are thrown at the target. Then suddenly, three targets light up together.

I frown. I know I have to throw in three seconds, it is the rule. But I seldom throw three knives together at the same time. I quickly send the knives out as soon as I take them out. Thanks _Snow_ that all of them hit the target. I think the show has ended. But by my surprise a final target lights up on the wall. It is almost out of my throwing range. And I have no more knives. "Ha." I hear the head trainer gasping, whom obviously notices the situation. Everyone is now staring at me. It is pin-drop silence. I run towards the wall. Then I pull a small pocket knife that I like to hoard in my hair, cutting my hairband. I throw the knife at the wall. Its handle wiggles as it lands on the little target, dancing and celebrating its new home. I turn around and the head trainer gives a thumb-up to me before returning to her work.

"Not bad," Goldia shrugs. The other careers give me an approving nod and start clapping. No other tributes are clapping though. They just stare at me as if I am a horrible monster.

I sit with my fellow Careers during lunch time, and we have agreed to form the Career's alliance. District 1 and 4 are debating whether we should invite the boy from district 9 to join us. "He is strong." Pearls says. "And skilled with sickle too. The thing they use to harvest grains in district 9."

"Why him? He is not really that physically intimidating." Cleon disagrees.

At last we agree to leave that boy alone. We then start talking about weapons. I notice how they purposely avoid talking about the Games though. Everyone at this table is clear that only one of us can go out of the arena alive. The others will become nothing but memories. Does it actually matter much between life and death? Between stabbing dummies at the training centre and killing a real person? I don't think so. Life is just short anyway. The only thing that is long-lasting is the cries of agony, of the tributes haunting the arena. So why should I care? _I will just kill them all, kill them all._

"So what do you think, district 2?" Seger says. The 5 of them looks at me. I withdraw myself from the sudden daydreams. "…What?"

"Do you think we should form a circle at the cornucopia so that we can focus to kill tributes that are in our respective areas, or should we just chase random tributes we can see?" Pearl says, her blue eyes penetrating me. "Oh…. I'd prefer the latter. I don't think we will be as organized as we planned to be, when the bloodbath begins." I don't like the first idea; I have to admit I don't trust my fellow allies. "How about fighting in pairs at the cornucopia so that we can watch each other's back?" Cleon says.

_Ouch._ I think. _Watching each other's back when we have to stab each other's back a week later. _But we agree to what Cleon says.

We spend the remaining days of training to check out all weapons in that area. I go to check out the Survival Station with Pearl, just in case I need it. I don't think I can trust my sponsors completely; I am just your average district 2 tribute girl. They won't shower supplies on me as they do on Tyrus. At the end of the training sessions, Brutus gives us a serious talk.

"Private Session." He takes a deep breath. "Determines how many sponsors you get. That means it determines your odds of winning." He pauses for a few seconds. "Show them everything. Show them who you are. Show them you are an extremely strong and intimidating opponent, Tyrus. Show them you are a skilled and fierce opponent, Enobaria."

"Sure." We reply. But I am not that sure how. Lyme goes to my room and describes to me the knives at the private session. Then I go to bed. I try to sleep, but I admit I am a bit scared. Show them everything? What if I suddenly miss? _No, you never miss, Enobaria. _

An hour or so I finally fall asleep, my favorite knife beside me.


	6. Chapter 6 - Show them what you have

I wake up an hour earlier than I should be. Brutus is already awake, and he is waiting for Tyrus. I sit on the couch with him for 15 minutes in awkward silence before Lyme comes out and greets us. "Feeling good?" She asks. My neck is sore; I slept in a wrong pose. And now my neck hurts when I try to move it.

District 4 is already there when we enter the room for our private sessions. Tyrus sits next to the boy from district 4, and they start to talk about weapons.I don't want to talk, but I have no choice. I sit awkwardly next to Pearl. I look at her, trying to come up with a topic. But all I notice about her is that she has some tiny seashells hanging on her hair.  
"What is your district token?" She starts the conversation. I pull out my necklace with "2" on it. "This is my token." She smiles and points at her bracelet. It is a transparent torus-shaped, definitely well-craved. There is some blue and white colored sand in it, resembling the ocean. I see a few sky-blue gemstones and a tiny dolphin sculpture in the sand. In the center lies a sparkling pearl. "It is from Seger. He is my friend back in district 4." Pearl turns and look at Seger, who is staring at us nervously.  
"Oh, that's cute." Is all I can manage to say. Trying to avoid the awkward silence, I admire her bracelet for a few seconds before Goldia comes. "Hi."

Then Goldia sits next to me and start talking about gemstones with Pearl. I sit between them like a statue, sometimes giving short responses. There is a quarry mine a few kilometers from the Training Centre in district 2. The mined gemstones are sent to district 1. I should be glad that at least they are talking about something I know. I don't know many girly things, and I am not that girly myself. No one is girly if they enjoy throwing knives at the Training Center anyway.

Around half an hour later, all tributes arrive, and the Gamemakers announce the procedures and regulation. Then they summon Goldia.  
There is an uneasy silence. No one is talking except Tyrus, who is now talking about his strategy. I wish he can shut up. After a while, they call Cleon's name.

I don't usually feel nervous, and I don't like the feeling. It makes me feel weak. I don't want to feel weak. But now I am nervous, and I want to retreat to my room. T_his is only the training session, Enobaria. Are you that cowardly?_ I hiss silently to myself, wishing my leg will stop vibrating. But it won't.

"Enobaria Winton, District 2." Someone call my name. I take a deep breath and look at my fellow tributes again, expecting to find them glaring at me. Afterall, they are my enemy, and I wish this fact can summon my sadistic nature. It is the time to show them everything. But to my surprise Tyrus and Pearl both smile at me and give me an approving nod which I don't understand. I turn away immediately and enter the room.

Someone announces my name again. "Enobaria Winton, District 2."

"Enobaria Winton, District 2." I confirm.

I see a huge turkey on the Gamemakers' table. The Gamemakers stop eating and look at me.

I grab the deadliest-looking knives and arrange them in my vest, trying to make myself look as intimidating as possible. The first target lights up, well within my throwing range. A knife lands on the target perfectly.  
The seconds target lights up and suddenly emits a red ray. I dodge just before it shines on my body, performing a backwards somersault in the air and throw a knife. My neck sores and I can't aim very carefully. The knife is still within the target but not exactly in the center. But I doubt the Gamemakers will notice it.

Then one, two, three, four… five. Five target lights up at the same time.  
I haven't tried throwing 5 knives at once. And I only have five seconds to throw before they consider me as "unsuccessful". I grip 5 knives randomly in my vest. It is certain that I have the wrong knives; some of them are for short distances. But I have no time to care. I just randomly send all knives out, praying that it will hit the right place. I watch the knives dancing in the air, hoping that my mental support can help the knives to land on the right place. Then I hear sounds of metal crashing. The Gamemakers stand up and check the dummies.

I look at the Gamemakers, trying to study their reaction. They give an approving nod and smile. "Thank You." They say. "You may leave now."

Goldia and Cleon both turn and stare at me when I walk out of the room.  
"Hello," Cleon clears his throat, "What did you show them?"  
"Knives. You?"  
"Maces. Bows and Arrows for Goldia."  
"Four target lit up just now," Goldia complains, "and I miss one of them terribly."  
_I have five targets lighting up together just now._ I sneer at Goldia in my thoughts. _And I didn't complain.  
_Then Tyrus comes out from the room. "Sword?" I ask. He nods.

Pearl comes out shortly. "Did you throw axes?" Goldia asks. Pearl shakes her head and says nothing. I try to look at her, but she is impossible to study.  
In the night, Brutus and Lyme watch the training scores with us. Cleon's photo appears and a ten flashes. Tyrus moves on the couch uncomfortably.  
I see Goldia's menacing and arrogant face on the screen. Then an eight appears.  
Tyrus' monstrous face appears . A ten flashes on the screen. Tyrus jumps up and yells in happiness. When Tyrus' face disappears I am bitting my lips. My teeth are quite sharp, and I can taste blood from my lips. But I don't care. Lyme pats on my back.  
I see a girl with messy brown hair. It takes a second for me to notice it is _me_. A ten flashes below.

"Ten for both of our tributes! Celebration, celebration." Lyme says, amusement in her voice.

Then we notice the girl from district 3, her brown eyes staring at us furiously and almost fearlessly in the screen. A 7 flashes below the screen. "Not bad," Tyrus shrugs, grabbing a Swiss roll. The girl's district partner is less fortunate; a 4 appears below his photo.

Pearl's photo appears. A 9 flashes. And Seger a 10. "Wow. 4 tributes 10." Lyme says. I am waiting for her to continue, but she says nothing.

District 5 to 8 gets scores between 2 to 5. The girl from district 9 gets a 5. And the boy from district 9 gets a 7. "Goldia will be glad that no one outscores her except the 5 of us. And she is probably furious that she gets the lowest score." Tyrus says, in an amused tone. I don't think he likes Goldia's attitude when she speaks to us in the training little district 11 girl gets a 5. Her district partner gets a 4. District 12 appears and their abject faces light up on the screen. 2 and 3. Then the Gamemakers appear on-screen and talk about the scores. "Wow. Looks like this year we have strong district 1,2, and 4 tributes!" He says, the crowd roaring. "From district 2, the two fearsome opponent to district 4, our sweet-looking tributes, and district 1 not to be overlooked! This year will surely be a blast!" Then the screen suddenly becomes turn around and see Brutus holding the controller.

"Time to talk about your interview tomorrow."Lyme escorts me to a huge room. My stylist Clelia pulls out a blood-red dress.

_Oh, red, color of blood. How sweet._

"I can add some spikes here if you want. Won't hurt, of course. "

"Okay." Lyme answers. The she turns to me when Clelia is measuring my body. "Remember to tell the audience how much you like the Capitol."  
"I like the building and the food, but I don't like the people." I grin.  
"I don't care if you like it or not. Just pretend. And let them know how determined you want to win. I know you don't like to talk, but you have to do this."

The next day I am dressed in a tight spiked blood red dress which exaggerates my curve, so it is now visible. I hate the heels, and I broke one of them a few minutes ago when I attempted to walk. "It is impossible to walk with this thing." I hiss angrily at Clelia. She shakes her hand and replaces my heels with another pair. My hair is tied into a ponytail, and I insist Clelia to use the red hairband I bring along with me.

We get to see all interviews on a huge television on the wall next to us. As usual, district 1 is always the first. Goldia talks a lot about gemstones and everything luxurious that makes the Capitol citizens happy. Cleon talks about how he wants to win the Games. Then someone calls me at the backstage and drags me on stage.

The dazzling white light blinds me for a second and I find myself in the center of the stage. Hundreds of people are in front of me. Cameras are flashing everywhere. Brutus, Lyme and Clelia sit at the first row, with some other victors. "Enobaria Winton, district 2!" Caesar Flickernman announces. The audience roars."Please sit." He says to me. I throw myself into the chair.

"First, how about introducing yourself to us? How is your life back in district 2?"  
"I like my district very much, though it is not as big and clean as the Capitol." The audience gives a laugh, amused and proud. Apparently the capitol audiences are very easy to impress. "District 2 is very supportive and kind. I want to make them proud." I say, trying to make myself sound as natural as possible, even though I am not lying.  
"Surely you do. Being the only female tribute getting a 10, you must be brilliant!"  
"Thanks." I reply, not knowing what to say. Caesar notices and continues speaking. "Do you know you are considered one of the most lethal tributes in this Game?" He turns and speaks to the crowd, energy blasting in his voice. "I mean, look at her eyes! We can see a killer inside! Killer's genes!" The audiences laugh and clap. "Tell us, how do you get a 10?"  
"You will see it on screen tomorrow." I smile. I look at the Gamemakers at the balcony. They nod at my response. "Details, we all want to know it, right?" Caesar says to the audience. Awkward. I need to change the topic.

"Watch, I will perform a trick." The audience is silent now. Caesar seems interested.  
I pull my hairband and let my hair down. I rip the hairband into two pieces with my canines. I hear the crowd gasping.

A small throwing knife with a flexible handle wiggles, its blade reflecting the camera trainer prepared such hairbands for me, saying I may need it sometimes. The blade is not large enough to kill someone, but if I throw it close enough, I can hurt someone.

It is not even a trick. Or a very stale one. But fresh enough for Capitol audiences.

"Wow, you have incredibly sharp teeth!" Caesar laughs, amazement in his voice.  
"Thanks."  
"Who knows that this girl can kill someone with a hairband!" Caesar says to the crowd, who is now clapping. "Too bad you can't wear that in the arena. Promise us you will continue to surprise us!"  
"Yes, I will. I am very prepared for the Games." I say. The stone lingering in my heart finally drops as I finish my sentence. That is something a Career tribute must say.  
"I am sure you are. Cheers for Enobaria Winton, our tribute from district 2!"  
The crowd roars. Lyme gives me double thumbs-up. Brutus and Clelia nod.

"Time-stealing trick." Goldia says, half jealous, half mocking, when she sees me at the backstage.  
"But it went well." Cleon says coldly. Then the conversation halts. I look at the screen to avoid their glares.

The district 3 girl is asked about her name, Briony. She flinches when Caesar moves towards her, fear in her eyes. "My name combines bionics and binary." She replies, almost falling off the chair. "Bionics is something I work on back in district 3."

"Hey!" Tyrus suddenly shouts, and I turn around. "Do you think I did well?" Then he chats with district 1. I watch the interview alone.

Pearl wears a long blue and white silk dress, with pearls on it. A blue ribbon is tied around her belly. It looks like a typical district 4 wedding dress.  
"…angel." I hear Caesar says. The audience laughs in agreement. "Thank you." Pearl smiles, "...But remember I volunteer for the Games. I am an angel. An angel from _hell_."  
Then the boy from district 4, Seger, comes up on stage. Caesar and him joke around everything. "You have an angel escorting you to the Capitol. Lucky, aren't you?" He says. Seger smiles, but his smile lingers a tint of sadness. We know the rule very well – only one can live. And obviously he doesn't find pleasure from joking about that.

And night falls. I am on my bed the next moment. My last night in this room as a tribute. I don't want to die. I want to win. I –  
I wonder if the previous district 2 tributes had mental breakdowns before they entered the arena like me.  
Why should I fear? I have nothing to lose. I only have the Games to win.

_You never have a choice._ I hiss at myself. _The world has chosen for you. A painful death or a glorious victory. _

But I still don't want to die.

"Sweet dreams, Enobaria." Lyme says to me before she closes my door.

At midnight, I finally doze off. And the sleep is full of nightmares – 100 versions of how I will be killed in the arena.  
I turn uncomfortably in my sleep.


	7. Chapter 7 - Beginning

The next day Tyrus and I say farewell to everyone. We know it very clearly, yet no one mention it, that one of us – at least one of us – will never see our mentors, escorts and stylists anymore. And at least one of us will be lost in darkness, fading out from everyone's memory.

"Make district 2 proud, Enobaria." Lyme puts her hand on my shoulder before I walk into the hovercraft. "We trust you." We hug each other, and I shake hands with Brutus before the hovercraft closes its door.  
I watch them injecting tracker into my arm. Tyrus is a few seats away. The girl from district 11 and Pearl sit next to me. No one speaks at all. The windows are closed automatically after 15 minutes or so. And I feel that we are landing.

I am led to my launch room. I never like my stylist, but when she comes in I hug her. "Calm down, you are just nervous."  
I sniff in some of her perfume.  
"I count on you. I know you will win." She smiles.  
I am desperately in needs of approvals, so I accept hers' as well. "Thank you."  
"May the odds be ever in your favour." She shakes hands with me solemnly. Then a pleasant female voice speaks.

"30, 29, 28…"

"Tell Brutus and Lyme I am sorry if I can't make it back." I say. The stylist nods.  
"Thanks." Then I just stand next to her for a few seconds, saying nothing but enjoying the last few seconds of peace in my life.

"14. 13. 12…"

I step into the metal plate. I raise my head high, trying to look proud and confident.

"5…4…3…2…1!" The door snaps and closes. Clelia gives me double thumb ups. The metal plate moves up, and a few seconds later I can no longer see her.

I take a deep breath. Then the smell of rotten egg greets me.

The sound of legendary announcer, Claudia Templesmith, booms around the arena.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the Sixty-second Hunger Games begin!"

The count down from 60 begins. I scan around the arena. The cornucopia is in the center of a dark swamp, around 50m away from me. The ground around the cornucopia, extending to the edge of our plates, are solid hard rocks; then at my back is a muddy pool extending up to another 50m which makes it hard to run. I think they must have made it to ensure there will be more deaths, since last year only 4 tributes died in the bloodbath. At the end of the muddy pool, there is a bumpy round, leading to a forest.

To my left is a dark forest which does not look promising. There are twisted trees and sounds of unknown animal chirping. Two words pop out in my mind – "Poison" and "Mutts".To my right is a lake with some bushes and normal-looking trees, and also a mountain. In front of me, several hundred meters from the cornucopia, I see bushes. But behind the bushes I see a huge, dark cave. The sight of it makes me feel uncomfortable.

The arena is spooky. Full of swamps and muddy pools.

36. 35…

I stare at the Cornucopia. It is a gigantic one, exceptionally tall and large. I see a vest lying against its wall, and I know there must be knives inside. I see bags of supplies lying around randomly next to the cornucopia.  
_Form a strategy now, Enobaria. Run to get the vest and start killing. Especially those who try to run away with supplies. Then get all supplies, especially that tent _– I see a tent and silver blanket somewhere inside the cornucopia. There is a large bag, possibly with some food, though I doubt if it is necessary since Careers usually get food.

17.16...

I look around. The girls from district 3 and 7 are next to me. Tyrus is 3 plates away. 4 plates for Cleon. At the other end, I see Goldia and Pearl on adjacent plates. Seger is 2 plates away from them.

7.6…

I look at the timer on the Cornucopia and pat my leg. _Focus. Focus…_

We hear the sounds of horns as the number on the timer changes into "0". My legs start to move and I run to the cornucopia. I am the first one to arrive. I grab the vest and put it on immediately. Inside is some knives perfectly arranged in-place.  
Pearl comes the second and she gets an axe, but also something I don't know. "Dodge, 2!" Pearl shouts as she throws the hook towards me. I bend downwards as the hook flies above my head, tearing off the throat of a girl, I think from district 10. Her bloody body falls onto the floor. So that's how she gets a 9.  
"Nice weapon," I grin at her.  
"Of course, I am a sadist." She replies with a hysterical laugh.

The other members of the alliance arrive. I run away from the cornucopia with Pearl to hunt other tributes.

I feel someone behind me and turn. The boy from district 7 holds a club and tries to hit me, but I dodge with no difficulty, and he falls into the ground. He stops moving when I throw a knife at his back. Pearl uses her hook to hang a boy and brings him forward, his skin ripped off. He cries in pain and collapses when Pearl pulls the hook out of his body. She displays a satisfying grin on her lips. In a few seconds her axe lands on the boy's brain.

The boy from district 9 grabs a backpack, but he sees us and retreats. I sprint forward until he is closer to my throwing range and throw my knife. But he turns and dodges. And in a few second he is out of my sight.

The cries of agony, pledging and sorrow rings around the cornucopia as the remaining members of the alliance reach every corner of the Cornucopia to hunt tributes.

_Rip! _Pearl's hook continues to rip off tribute's skin and flesh as she drags them close to her and kill them. _Cling! Cling! Cling!_ The boys continue to use their maces, swords and spears to kill tributes. Blood spurts out from the dead bodies like waterfall. _Wosh!_ Goldia's aim is not particularly good, but I think she manages to injure a girl and slows her down, allowing Cleon to finish her off. And my knives are itching to find their new homes.

Soon I see no other tributes around us. I run back to the Cornucopia with Pearl and we loot the tents and blankets there. "Should we camp here?" Seger asks. Then cannons start to boom.

I count them. _Boom. Boom. Boom… _

13 cannons. 13 deaths. 6 of us here. 5 of them out somewhere.

The hovercraft is buzzing on top of us. We need to leave this area now.  
"Is there any water among our supplies?" Cleon suddenly asks.  
We find two bottles of water.  
"Then perhaps it will be better if we go to the lake. We need water. The lake will be good." He pauses for a moment, "if the water is clean."

We agree to camp by the lake. I suggest that two of us cross the mud together and the remaining wait on the shore, guarding the area and look for tributes. I certainly don't doubt there are mutts out there, but I think the Gamemakers won't release them until the grand finale. Watching tributes killing each other is more interesting in the eyes of the Capitol audiences.

We cross the muddy pool and wiggles to shake the muddy water off. We walk to the lake together, in a circle, in case something goes wrong at any directions. I stare at the dark forest once more. It makes me the hair on my back stands.

"We are here." Tyrus says after a while. The lake is shallow yet clear. The bottom is lined perfectly with gravels.

Pearl gets the water and pours it on a plant far away. We observe it for a while, and it doesn't seem to wilt. Then we clean the lake water with iodine and drink it.

The wet grass makes us feel uncomfortable, so we enter the tent to sort our items.I find a pair of night vision glasses, a silver plastic blanket, an empty water bottle, three apples, a pack of biscuits and a few ninja stars. Not bad. I fill the bottle with water.

Seger speaks."I think we need more than one of us to keep watch."  
"How about 2?" I say. Then Cleon adds, "From different districts."  
"Perhaps 3." Tyrus says. "We sleep earlier at night and wake up at midnight to shift. We have 3 pairs of night-vision glasses in total, so this should be able to keep us safe."  
"Great. Then I, Cleon and Enobaria will keep watch first. How about that?" Pearl suggests.

The others agree. The night falls soon and the three of us wear night vision glasses and sit at different areas around our tent, watching the dark carefully. We should be safe tonight unless another tribute finds us and decides he wants to attack; there are enough deaths tonight and the audiences are surely amused. They should be watching the death recaps now.

A parachute lands right next to me. Inside I find a bottle of nutrition pills – the best brand in Panem. There is also a piece of paper. I hold it high under the moonlight. "One pill equals one meal – L"  
"Thanks." I say, to the moon. "Thanks Lyme, thanks sponsors."

The Capitol anthem booms around the arena. My allies comes out and watches the sky. The words "**The Fallen**" flash. I take a deep breath. Tyrus grins, excited.

The first one to appear is the boy from district 3. Then the girl from district 5. The boy from district 6. Both from district 7 and 8. The district 9 girl. Both from district 10. The district 11 boy and both from district 12. Then the sky fades into darkness.

I try to figure out who is left. "Us. The girl from 3. The girl from 6. The boy from 9…"

"The boy from 5 and the girl from 11." Cleon adds. "That leaves 11 of us."  
_  
10 more to die, _I whisper to myself.


	8. Chapter 8 - Hunt

The lake reflects the pale arena moonlight gently onto my face. The wind whispers and howls, singing a sad and twisted melody. Some insects chirp. A moist breeze makes my hair dances and tickles my face.  
It is very peaceful. As if nothing has happened just now.

I feel a bit lonely. And I am glad that my fellow tributes are with me. I don't like them, but at least they are true living things. Unlike those mutts out there somewhere.  
I try to deny it; but I miss companions. I don't have many companions in district 2, and I expect to none in the Games. But I have some now. _And I will kill them in a week. _

Some kind of strange feeling brushes my heart. I don't understand it, but I don't like this feeling.  
Feeling is weakness. And weakness is shameful to Careers. I quickly dismiss the thought and turn to strategy-forming.

After a few hours, Cleon wakes the others up, and we go to sleep. I wrap the silver blanket around myself. Pearl is already asleep, hugging her own blanket tightly, like a kid cuddling with her teddy bear. I can hardly imagine that she ripped off someone's throat with a hook a few hours ago. My eyelids become heavier and heavier, and finally snap shut.

"Wake up!" Tyrus shouts. I rub my eyes.  
"Shall we explore the arena carefully?" Goldia asks.  
"We are not here for a geography field trip." Tyrus hisses. Goldia stares at him angrily.

There is a whole minute of uneasy silence before Seger speaks.  
"Chill guys, chill."

"Let's find the others." Cleon says. "They are probably out in the woods."

We walk silently together. Around an hour or two later we enter an area that is covered in dark colored mud. Cleon calls it humus. I see a swamp somewhere nearby.  
"Water source." Seger says, "And foot prints! Human foot prints!" He lowers his voice, pointing at a few prints on the mud. Not a smart tribute to leave his own marks on a muddy area.

"Watch." Pearl hisses. We scan through the area.  
"Over there." I whisper, pointing to a figure on the tree. A girl is sleeping and dangling. Goldia takes a step backwards for a better look, but she breaks some branches. The girl hears us and her eyelids fly open.

"Oh girl you are finally awake." Tyrus shouts. Then he turns around and announces, "This kill is mine!"

The girl trembles and tries to sit – on a branch – and it breaks and falls onto the ground. She crashes onto the ground, and winces in pain. When she finally manages to stand up she notices us circling her. Tyrus' sword is pointing at her belly.  
"Please, please no. I can be useful – " The girl trembles.

"In what occasion, district 6?" Goldia asks. "When we need someone to lick our feet?"

We laugh at that. The girl seems to be a bit furious, but her fear has overcome her. "I – I can make nets –"  
"Nets? We don't need nets. We have sponsors." Cleon says, harshly, in a mocking tone.

The girl looks like a trapped animal, nowhere to go. "Please –" She gasps as she sees Tyrus raising his sword, aiming at her body. "No! No!" Her distorted cry echoes around the arena, her messy honey hair stained with blood from her own wounds. Tyrus has stabbed her multiple times, each time at a different position that is nonfatal. He is playing with her.

After the birds finish singing, Tyrus decides it is enough. "Time to go, girl." Tyrus raises his sword. A large pool of red surrounds the girl. The girl is unable to speak anymore. Her fists ball up, her teeth gritting, as if she is trying to overcome the pain. I can see fear in her half-closed eyes. She doesn't want to die.

Tyrus' sword sinks into her skull. The girl's cannon fires immediately. He rotates the sword a whole circle before yanking it up. "Clear out." Cleon suggests. "Back to camp."

When we are back, we see unknown white orchids on the ground, growing in an unbelievably fast rate. I try to touch them, but Pearl shoves me onto the ground. "Watch out!" She hisses. "These are Toxicas. Mutts. They are toxic and release toxins to ground water and soil. Touch them and you are dead."  
"Thanks." I whisper to her.  
Pearl seems not to hear me. Her blue eyes widen suddenly.

"Water? Damn."

She runs to the lake. Shades of purple substances float on the lake. The flowers growing around the lake have wilted.

"Poisoned." Seger shakes his head.  
"Who did this?" Tyrus asks furiously.  
"Who else can it be?" Cleon shrugs, his index finger pointing up to the sky.

Right, the Gamemakers must have found it amusing to see us panic.

"Do not go too close to the flowers, or you may faint." Pearl says.  
"What? What should we do then?" Tyrus snaps at the others, angrily, like an ant on the stove. "We need water!"  
"Chill Bro. Let's check out other areas." Seger says.  
"Tomorrow, it is nearly dusk now. I don't think anywhere is safe at night." I say.

We move our tent away from the lake, putting plastic wraps under our trousers to make sure we don't touch the soil ground.  
We share the little amount of food we have, though I deliberately hoard my pills and eat secretly when I am on guard. The others have decided to hunt tomorrow morning, so it does not matter anyway. I fall asleep though, when I suppose to be on guard. Tyrus shoves me to the tent and lies me down when it is his shift. I immediately wake up and grab my knife.  
"Sorry," he says. "I didn't mean to wake you up."  
"Nevermind. My fault to sleep as well."  
But I have no problem falling asleep again. The next second I am already unconscious.

"Should we go there?" Cleon asks next day, pointing at the spookiest section of the arena. "That's the place we haven't been to yet. Or we can go to the caves if you like."  
"Let's check out the woods." Tyrus says. We follow him slowly.

A few hours later we arrive at the forests. I hear the sound of unfamiliar animals inside. No one wants to go in, so we just look at each other.

"Doesn't look good to me." Goldia says, taking a step backwards as if she wants to run.  
"But it is not toxic." Pearl says, "You see, the water is still clear. Nothing toxic around." She dips her elbow into the clearest pool of water. There is no reaction.

She adds iodine into the water and drinks.

"Drinkable." She announces. The others rush to fill their bottles like hungry animals. My bottle is still full, so I just look at the woods. The leaves move unnaturally.  
"Hey." I whisper to Pearl. "I'll go check something out."  
"I'll go with you." She says.

We sneak away from the others, who are busy filling their bottles.

I walk into the forest. It is extremely humid, as if all water on earth is floating in this air. The sound of animal howling becomes louder. The hard ground under my foot has been replaced with muddy grounds and swamps, which make each step harder.

"There!" Pearl hisses and I turn, throwing my knife at some moving leaves. Something howls and rolls on the ground. The boy from district 5.

"Are you making the animal noises to scare us just now?" I ask. He looks at me angrily and say nothing. But in a second I realize I am wrong; I can still hear something howling.

The boy's left leg is stuck in a swamp. I notice that my knife hit his right thigh. I throw another knife at his left leg. He collapses into the swamp.  
Pearl's axe split the boy's nose into half perfectly. A terrible amount of red liquid pours out from his nasal cavity. And I admit, I like to see _flowing _blood. _  
_I throw another knife at his cheeks. The anger on his face is replaced by fear. "Don't waste knives." Pearl says. "I will do it."

While she is chopping the boy's arm, I hear the howling again. It is closer and closer.  
"Pearl!" I snap at her. She cannot hear me. Her blue eyes display happiness and satisfaction when she chops the boy's fingers off. The boy tries to scream, but he can't - Pearl has broken his throat.  
"Pearl!"  
I throw a knife, fatally wounding the boy. His cannon immediately fires. Pearl turns to me, slightly disappointed. "…What?"  
"There is something!"

A large, dark, brown figure darts out. Behind it are several more others. And we can see it.

_Mutts. Spiders. _


	9. Chapter 9 - Feast

Another dark figure, much smaller, is in front of them. The mutts reach it. It screams.

A girl's scream.

"Run!" We both scream at the same time to each other and run out of the forest. We see the four of them debating something. "Run!" We shout at them. Confused, they follow us and start running. A cannon fires when we are running across the cornucopia.

"Nothing…. should be chasing…. us now." I gasp, when we return to the contaminated lake.  
"What… happened?" Cleon asks.  
"Mutts…they are …towards us." Pearl says.  
"And the cannons…?"  
"…Boy from 5… another….don't know…"  
"I see." Cleon says. But his lips are displacing a smirk.

Then we camp by the lake the rest of the day. We ran for almost an hour, and none of us want to continue the day anymore. We lie in the tent like some dead animals. Later in the night we see the boy from district 5 and the girl from district 11 on the sky.

In the morning Claudius Templesmith's voice booms around the arena.  
"Tributes, congratulations, you are in the final eight and have made your districts proud. You may have notice that some food sources in the arena are not made available. Therefore, after some discussion, we have generously decided to invite all of you to attend a feast at the Cornucopia at dusk. I am certain that none of you likes to be hungry. May the odds be ever be in your favor – and Happy Hunger Games!"

"We should probably start going now." Tyrus suggests, before noticing that we are still lying on the ground like some dead meat. "Hey, you all are going, right?"  
I nod, trying to stand up. My legs hurt whenever I try to move them. And from the other's facial expressions I bet their legs hurt too.

We march to the edge of the woods slowly and have lunch at the hottest hour of the day. Pearl and I get some biscuits after killing the boy from district 5. But it is not enough. Everyone is starving when we reach the Cornucopia.  
Are the sponsors ungenerous this year? Or there are other reasons… that our mentors are holding the sponsors from showering supplies on us?

I shrug. Whatever reason it is, it means they think we need something expensive later.

At late afternoon, we circle the whole Cornucopia and wait for tributes. I am responsible to watch the caves. And for hours I stand there, seeing nothing but a gigantic black hole in front of me. Goldia stands next to me, examining her arrows.

The sun sets; and the sky is painted orange. Some birds fly in V shape at the background."It should be dusk now." Seger says.  
Then a table appears with nothing but a small piece of bread.

"Seriously?" Tyrus says, putting the bread in his pocket. "This is a feast –"

Then we hear it.

Howls. Screams. Cries. From the caves.

Everyone focus on the caves and I see something moving towards me. I get a knife from my vest. Is someone actually attending the feast to get killed?  
Then I see the two gigantic spiders behind, forcing someone to reach the Cornucopia. Her long black hair dances in the air.

My thoughts are twisted, tangled, and for a few seconds my brain is empty.  
What is happening?

The girl from district 3 runs in zig-zag, and the spiders seem to be stunned everytime they turn, allowing the girl to pull off the distances between her and the spiders. Her eyes are bewildered, terrified; her teeth gritting as she jumps over the table like a fox, running to the forest. I consider throwing my knife at her. But then I see the large, black eyes looking at me hungrily.

The spiders examine me for a second before swinging their claws to chop me. I jump up and throw knives at their eyes. I can see nothing except eyes on its huge head. The two spiders howl angrily and retreat into the caves.  
If only it is actually retreating.

Dozens of spiders come out from the cave a few minutes later. We form a war front; Tyrus and Seger in the frontline, trying to kill the spiders. But they seem to be immortal. Despite knowing that it will bring more spiders, I throw a knife at a spider's eyes.

The boy from district 9 appears, with three spiders behind him. He is waving a dagger crazily as if he is trying to dismiss some invisible flies in front of him. He has a huge, deep cut on his chest and stomach. He sees us and turns at the spiders. That's when I notice he has a cut on the back as well. For a second, I think he might try to run away from us. But then he decides to run directly towards us.

A spider suddenly appears a few meters away, in front of everyone. My body is pumped with adrenaline, and I stand there, stunned, for one second. Then my brain tells me to run.

Run. I try to climbing up the Cornucopia but fail; the Gamemakers have applied oil beforehand on the wall so no one can climb it easily. I climb on the nearest tree I can find, lowering my breath, hoping that I can stay here peacefully until it is over.

Goldia tries to kill the boy, but before she can do so a spider appears in front of her. Stunned and shocked, she screams and rolls onto the ground, trying to load her arrow. But it is too late. The spider's sharp _claws_ cut the bow into halves and shove it away. Her hands are tangled on the string of the bow, and its momentum throws her forward. She falls onto the ground.

The spider moves towards her, its sharp claws ready, pinning her to the ground so she can't move. She screams for help, but no one is free to help her. And she is out of my throwing range.  
The spider sinks its claws into her heart and she stops moaning. Large amount of red liquid comes out from her chest immediately, and I know she is a goner. A few seconds later her twisted body no longer wiggles. A cannon fires.

Goldia's arrow hits the boy from district 9 on his left arm. The boy runs into Cleon, knocking him onto the ground. Angrily cursing the boy, Cleon raises his sword and beheads the boy. His cannon fires immediately. Then Cleon finds three spiders staring at him hungrily.

Pearl has gouged the eyeballs of a few spiders out with her hooks, yet the largest spider suddenly appears behind her. It pins her onto the ground, and she is unable to move at all. She winces angrily, knowing that a girl is too weak to escape from these spider's forceful claws, unless they set her free - which is impossible. I see her struggling and screaming when the spider stabs her left arm.

The ground below seems to suddenly vibrate. An enormous spider appears, its claws cutting down the tree I am on. I fall onto the ground. Then it notices me.

I run as fast as I can, yet my sore leg isn't doing any good. I reach the muddy area at the edge of the Cornucopia, dive through it, trying to swim away from the spider. And luckily I am faster than the spider, who is slowly marching towards me. I stand up and wait until it is within my throwing range. The knife splits its eyeballs into half. It _howls_ angrily and disappears.

Pearl's clear voice rings in the arena, her cry pitying. The spider cuts her left leg deeply, leaving a long bloody wound so I can see her left leg's bones. But there is nothing I can do. The spider howls one more time, raising one of its claws up high. Pearl wiggles but she knows she can't go away. She stares at the spider, anger and fear in her eyes. And she knows it is over for her. She closes her eyes and waits for her fate.

But it doesn't come.

Seger, who is fighting two spiders at that time, hears Pearl's scream and immediately turns. He is in good shape, but his eyes display horror, fear, pity and sadness. He runs towards her, screaming her name in a distorted sound I have never heard. He throws a spear at the spider's eyes, but the spider does not disappear. It just howls more angrily.

The second before the spider stabs her, Seger roars furiously. Hatred crawls up on his face.

Then time seems to slow down. He makes it look like an accident – but I know it better that it is not. He dives towards Pearl, and when the camera cannot see him anymore, he wraps her head in his arms, as if he is protecting his little treasure.

"Seger! What - " Pearl seems to be as shocked as I am. Then the claw sinks into Seger's chest. Seger vomits a terrible amount of blood and life drains from him.

Then, as if someone has casted a spell, all spiders poof in the matter of a second. Yet the sharp blade-like claw is still in Seger's heart.

Pearl sits. Then she notices Seger, who is lying next to her. His chest is cut wide open.

"Seger?" She asks, terror in her voice.

Seger says nothing; his hand trembles and grabs hers. He taps her palm rhythmically with his index finger. He holds his hand as high as he can, drawing something on her face. I cannot figure out what he is drawing; but he gleams joyfully like a kid, his eyes sparkling suddenly when he is done, as if he has drawn _Mono Lisa_ and is appreciating the artwork.

Then his hand slips and falls lifelessly on the ground. A cannon booms around the arena.

Pearl's blue eyes dilate with shock, pity and sadness. Her body trembles lightly, her hands gripping Seger's jacket hard, as if she is trying to bring him back to life. A sound escapes from her lips.  
I look at her eyes. They are teary, but in a few seconds, she returns to display a cold menace in her eyes as she usually does, scanning the other tributes. I turn away and pretend I didn't see her just now.

As if mocking everyone, the night falls immediately. We see Goldia, Seger and district 9 on the sky. Pearl releases Seger and takes his district token. She stuffs a seashell from her hairband into his jacket. Then she smiles to him politely and sweetly, like she always does to everyone, and slowly backs away, allowing the buzzing hovercraft to take his body.

The wind howls loudly, angrier than it has ever been.


	10. Chapter 10 - Gone

I apply the cream Lyme sends to me on my wound. I am able to work normally in a few minutes.

I cross the muddy swamp to reach my allies. A parachute lands in front of Pearl. She opens to find some similar cream inside, and when she applies it onto her leg she sighs in relief. Some tissues form on her legs magically and she is able to stand up and move, trembling. I hold her when we walk.

Tyrus and Cleon camps next to the Cornucopia.

"Two gone in a night." Cleon says, amusement in his voice.  
"Don't you feel sorry for Goldia?" Pearl hisses angrily.  
"No. Do you feel sorry when you rip a tribute's throat open? No, you don't. You are amused." Cleon replies. Pearl looks at him furiously.  
"Shut up, dude." Tyrus says.

"I keep watch." I say. "With Pearl?" She nods. When Cleon and Tyrus are inside the tent, she curls into a little ball, at the other side of the tent. Her dark hair dances in moonlight, her head resting lifelessly on her knees, looking at the moon. We sit in silence and wait fordawning.

The morning light beams joyfully into the arena for the very first time.

"Tyrus and I will hunt." Cleon says, after greeting us good morning. "You two can stay. Pearl isn't going far with her legs like that."  
Then they are gone. Pearl and I wait silently for them to return.

A cannon fires in the late afternoon. "Who do you think that is?" Pearl asks.

"Maybe district 3?"  
"Yeah. Who else can it be?"

But we were wrong. When the anthem play later at night time, I cannot see district 3 on the sky.

Instead, I see Tyrus.

_Tyrus! _What is happening?  
Tyrus is dead. _DEAD. _

He was talking, he was living, he was sitting next to me… and now he was gone. Forever.

I wonder what brought him down. If Cleon and Tyrus fight, Cleon should also be dead if Tyrus died.

"Maybe district 3 caught him in some electric traps." Pearl says. "I am sorry."  
"It's fine." I say, looking at Tyrus' photo one last time before it disappears.

"Do you think we should separate now?" Pearl says the next morning when Cleon doesn't return. "I mean, there are only 4 of us left. And we have to kill each other later."  
"I think so. Good luck." I manage a smile and turn away swiftly. But Pearl suddenly calls my name.

"Enobaria, if I can't win, I want you to." For the first time, she pronounces my name correctly. And she is smiling, beaming, like Seger before he died.  
"Thank you." I reply quickly, smiling politely and turn. Then we walk in opposite directions.

Hours later I am in front of the caves. I hear something howling inside.  
Then I hear a branch breaking.

Something is moving towards me.

A few seconds later a silvery figure appears, but I can't recognize it. Is it some kind of mutt?  
Then she raises her head. Her long messy black hair flies in the air, and I gasp again.

It is the girl from district 3.

"Hey, district 3." I say, looking at the girl. She is in no good condition. "Briony, is it? Did you kill my partner?"

I look at her face. It is full of dirt, mud, but I can still see her high cheekbones. The Asian girl has long haired tied in double back ponytails. Her large brown eyes stare at me wearily, as if I am some specimen in the laboratory. She wraps herself in a silver blanket.

"No, I didn't. I knew nothing but wires. I showed them wires, but there are no wires in this arena. I could do nothing." She manages to laugh hollowly.

I grip my knife harder. "Then who?"

"I was on the trees. District 1 was arguing with him. Then they fought."

"Tyrus was brought down by Cleon?" I say, suspicion in my voice.

"District 1 made him walked in front of him, then stabbed at his back with a toxic spear." She gasps. "Then he collapsed. He injured 1 with his sword, cutting his stomach. District 1 removed the sword from his stomach and stabbed his neck. That was it."

When she finishes her speech she notices my knife.  
"Go ahead." She says. Then she releases her blanket.

Her clothes are torn. Flesh is hanging on her skeleton. I can see her ribs, her growling stomach, part of her intestine and her hinge bones.

I step backwards, unsure what she means. No one wants to die. And no one has ever begged me to kill him or her.

"4 Careers getting 10. The Gamemakers want a Career to win." She laughs and collapses, her black hair meeting the coal colored ground. "Not me. When spiders start crawling on me, I know I can't leave this place alive."

She notices me sitting next to her unmoved.

"Trust me, I am a biomedical engineer. The body parts I make are for people in better condition than I am now." She whispers to me.  
"Do it fast, please. I am dead anyway."

Her ribs are moving up and down, a pink colored thing bumping in her ribs.

I move towards her to check her condition. When we are only a few inches apart, she suddenly grabs my hand. Her hands are bloody, and I flinch in terror, trying to free she is determined.  
"I don't think you mind being credited for this."

Then she yanks my knife and pulls it into her own heart. The pink thing stopped moving.

She is dead. She is gone.

The cannon makes me jump up in terror. I look at my hands. Bloody. Full of her blood.  
She ends her life. I have to admit that she is brave, ultimately brave.

Something from her shocks me. I always enjoy watching people die, especially if they die in pain. But not her. Not anymore.

She isn't afraid of dying. Unlike the others. And…

I look at her, paralyzed and stunned.

The hovercraft is hovering on top of me, but my legs seem heavy like stone. I just stand there, staring at her awkward body, until her blood dries.

Then I run away, terrified, from her - and from both sanity and insanity.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Lost Sea Gem

I wander in the forest aimlessly, trying to look for Pearl and Cleon. But I find nothing, except muds, muds everywhere.  
The morning mud is wetter than ever, and I almost slip for several times if I can't hold onto some branches. But why is the mud so sticky?  
Terror runs through my spine. I feel like an insect on the sticky tape.

It's a trap. _Run! Run!_ I snap at myself. _I need a safe place to hide, tall enough, hard enough…_

The Cornucopia.

I start running towards it. A few seconds later two spiders appear and chase after me. I dodge the trees in front of me, hold onto random branches so I don't fall when I run. The branches and vines cut my skin open. But there is no time to feel pain.

Another spider appears in front of me. I throw a knife, and it disappears just in-time for me to pass through the space. I tremble and run towards the cornucopia. The spiders follow me.  
I give a loud squeak as I try to climb the wall of the Cornucopia. It is less oily, but it is still hard for me to climb. The spiders are after me, and I have to get to the top –

I climb the interior of the Cornucopia and pull myself to its exterior top with my arms. The force rips open the wounds on my arms even more. I scream in pain, but refusing to let go. If I give up, I am dead.

Then I finally throw myself onto the top of the Cornucopia. It is a flat surface, and it is not oiled; I can sit on it safely. The spiders' dull black eyes look at me angrily, but the Cornucopia is too high for their claws to reach. They howl.

Then I hear a familiar scream.

Pearl is running away from several spiders. She screams and constantly slips, but she stands up and continues to run. She is a fast runner, but her left leg is fragile; when she runs vigorously the new skin on her leg tears, and she is bleeding heavily. She collapses next to the Cornucopia. I see fresh, deep cuts on her stomach and her back. In a second, all the mutts in that area surround her, their claws sting into her arms, and she starts screaming.

A clear voice rings in the arena.  
"Eno! Help!"

The sadistic and bloodthirsty angel is now helpless, yelling, shivering in front of me like all other dying tributes. I can't do anything; it is impossible to stop 6 mutts from attacking her. And she knows it very well. She gives me a look as if she is pledging me, smiling bitterly as she closes her eyes.

Then she points at her neck and marks an _X_ on it.

I put my hand into my vest. As her ally, I will do it for her.

A knife hits her neck, and she stops moving. Fresh crimson blood flows out, decorating her skin. A cannon booms around the arena.

The spider retreats to another side of the arena, revealing Pearl's body. She is smiling, holding her district token.  
I can't feel anything. The wind makes my hair messy, but I have no will to comb it with my fingers. My limbs are numb, but something weird runs through my spine.I watch the hovercraft picking up her body. Her sweet smile appears on the sky that night.

I put on my night vision glasses, in case Cleon decides to attack at night. I wait for an hour, but nothing is coming towards me. Fatigue strikes me; I haven't slept for almost two days. Against my better judgment, I fall asleep on the top of the cornucopia.

In the midnight, I hear a loud metal scratch. My eyelids open quickly.  
I sit up and look around, but I can't see anything. There are no mutts. Everything quiet and normal, as if nothing happened.  
The metal scratch becomes louder.

Then I see Cleon climbing up to the top of the Cornucopia.

* * *

**Book and Fanfic Traveller**: Really? I didn't see that when I read it. Nevermind just ignore it then :)


	12. Chapter 12 - Monster Boy

"Oh, Enobaria. The little girl." He grins. "I didn't want you in our pack when I see you in reaping, but my mentor forced me to. Who knows that you can make this far and be my final opponent?"

"I am not a little girl." I hiss back.

"I thought district 4 would outlive you. But apparently I was wrong." He laughs. "Well for district 3… never considered her as a person anyway."

"Whatever." I say. Then I seem to realize something. "Did you kill Tyrus because you think I will be easier to kill?" I snap at him. "I tell you, you are wrong."

"Bingo. That boy is my only enemy, but he is too simple-minded." Cleon laughs. "By the way I can't believe you are still alive. A small girl that barely looks like a Career. I broke my glass when I saw you get a 10."

I glare at him.

"Ouch, time to go home." He pulls out his sword and spear. I get two throwing knives in my right hand.

"Take this!" He shouts, his sword trying to hit my heart. It stabs my shoulder instead. I remove it angrily and throw it into the woods with my good hand.

"You tricky thing." He laughs. I throw a knife at him, and it hits his left arm. He removes it furiously. I try to throw another knife at his weakest point, yet it hits his hinge instead. He is a good dodger.

He swings his spear, attempting to knock me down. I bend just enough to avoid being beheaded. I try to throw a ninja star, my last star, at his head, but he knocks it away.

"Why can't you just stay in position so I can stab you? You are going to die anyway."

He laughs, stabbing me in my left leg.

I stare at him, anger boiling my heart.

My knife slices his cheeks. Blood trails come down from the bottom of his eyes, and he raises his hand to wipe it.

_It's time. _

I throw a knife, and it knocks off his spear to a few meters away. He runs towards me angrily, howling.

I put my hand in my vest, trying to search for another knife to kill him.

_Knives! Knives! Where are they?_

Adrenaline suddenly fills up my whole body.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. _

I have no more knives.  
Nothing left.

And I am now weaponless.

I am never good at hand-to-hand combat. When I am searching for the knife, he pushes me down to the ground, sitting next to me. He puts his foot on my abdomen so I cannot flee.

"Ouch, too bad." He says. "You have nowhere to go now, little rabbit." He grabs my neck and sits on my wounded leg. I wince in pain. I try to punch him with my fists, but it is useless. He just sits on me harder.

He gives a hysterical laugh when he hears my cry; his eyes crazy and insane. He puts his hands around my neck, ready to twist it.

_Oh no, I am going to die._

Hope seems to be drained from my body in a second.

_After all these trainings, it is death that awaits. _

"Goodbye, Enobaria."

Anger suddenly boils in my heart.

_Cleon is a monster._

_I hate him so much. _

Then something rings in my brain, clear enough to make me jump.

_I don't want to die. I don't want to die! _

I sit up and aim for his neck. He seems to be startled for a second, and falls onto the ground. His eyes are angry like wild bear now, his legs wiggling in the air, trying to kick me. I sink my teeth into his throat.

He gives a loud cry I have never heard, his eyes in a mixture of terror and menace, his teeth gritting. He tries to shove me away; his hands scratching my neck. I bite even harder.

Blood starts to pour out from his throat, and he tries to break free. But my canine is curved inwards, he just makes himself hurt even more. His throat makes a distorted sound.

I must admit I like the taste of blood.

He pulls my hair crazily. But as I reach his trachea, I tear it and start to close my mouth. My teeth rip more and more of his throat. I feel some soft structure, and tear it open.

He produces a guttural voice that does not belong to a living thing.

I rip off his Adam apple, biting pieces of it off in my mouth. He produces some noises, and I spit the things in my mouth away. I look at him – his throat is almost empty; with a terrible amount of red liquid in it. His hair is messy and blood-stained, his hand violently shaking, scratching the metallic wall of the Cornucopia. He never stops glaring at me. I cannot recognize him anymore; he seems like a figure that I have never known. His eyes are alien, and I am terrified by the amount of both hatred and fear in his eyes. His pupil becomes wider and wider; as if he is trying to look at the world clearly. The anger in his eyes are soon replaced by fear and remorse, and he can no longer hide it. His green iris sparkles for one last time.

He is no more Cleon. He is just another tribute, another soul, fighting for life, and afraid of dying.

I take a step backwards.

A minute later his cannon fires. Claudius Templesmith's voice booms around the arena.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you, the victor of the 62nd Hunger Games!"

I raise my bloody hands up and embrace the sky.

Victory! The moment I always wanted!  
District 2 must be proud. My trainer must be proud. Brutus and Lyme must be proud…

The whole population of district 2 must be in front of the big television in the Square, shouting and roaring in joy. I am their newest hero.

But under the vivid happiness I am confused with my feeling. I don't understand why.

Briony, the girl from district 3, suddenly comes into my mind; her wearily black eyes looking at me, hand grabbing my knife, and pull it into her heart.  
I shake my head and her image leaves. Then the boy from district 5 comes into my mind.

I don't despise killing. I like it.

But I hate having to kill someone I don't want to kill.  
I don't want to kill my fellow tributes.  
Maybe... not even Cleon.  
He is just trying to win. _Like me. _

This is the Hunger Games, and there shall be only one victor.

My life goal is winning; I will kill anyone in my way to do it.  
And I did it. Especially when I rip off the throat of that boy, who is a monster -  
_  
Ain't I a monster? _

I find Cleon staring at me angrily, like he is trying to tear me apart with his glare. But under his glare is fear, absolute fear.  
He don't want to die. And I don't want to kill him.

I stand there, confused, as the fan of the hovercraft makes my hair dances in the air. The ladder comes down.

But I am not a decent person; I decide to immerse myself in the pool of happiness, instead of sudden confusion that I have never felt.  
I choose to recognize myself as the victor, instead of a monster.

It doesn't make any difference anyway.

The hovercraft comes to bring me up. And I know Brutus and Lyme will be welcoming me on there.

_I am the victor!_ I remind myself again, and allow happiness to claim my heart.  
But deep in my heart I reassure myself.

_One day I shall let them taste their own medicine. _


End file.
